Tula Sankranti
Tula
Sankranti is also known as Garbhana Sankranti and is the first day of the
Kartika month by the hindu solar calendar. It falls on the same day as
Mahasthmi and is celebrated all over India with different rituals. The festival
is especially celebrated in Odisha and Karnataka to enjoy the achievement of
the farmers in growing rice fields just as a pregnant mother rejoices and feels
proud of her womb. Thus, Tula Sankranti is also called the garbhana Sankranti.
The day is celebrated with social, religious, and cultural significance.
Holy dips or bath in Karnataka, Mayavaram and
Bhagamandala are considered auspicious not only on the day of Sankranti but
throughout the Tula month. Different pujas are performed to please Goddess
Laxmi so that she bestows good crop for the farmers every year. The whole
family of the farmers get involved during the puja ceremony and pray to God
after which they eat a rich meal to believe that their will be no shortage of
food in the future.
Like other Sankranti days, temples are decorated and devotees come in
large number to offer daan to the needy people. They pray to God for a better
future and please him with good deeds. On Tula Sankranti, temples of Goddess
Laxmi hold special importance apart the Surya temples and Navgraha temples.
Rituals of
the Day
- Goddess Laxmi
and Goddess Parvati are worshipped on this day in Odisha and Karnataka
respectively.
- Goddess Laxmi
is offered fresh rice grains, along with wheat grains and branches of kara
plants, while Godess Parvati is offered betel leaves, palm nuts,
sandalwood paste along with vermillion paste and bangles.
- The celebration
of this day is known to reduce famines and draughts so that the harvest is
plenty and there is growth of earning power among the farmers.
- In Karnataka
coconut is covered with a silk cloth and decorated with garlands to
represent Goddess parvati.
- Another common
ritual of this day that takes place in Odisha is to measure the yield of
rice, wheat and pulses so that there will be no scarcity.
2016 Date : 17th October, Monday.
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